Fire Emblem: Mark's Return
by VulporAnime
Summary: Waking up to the world of Fire Emblem on the continent of Magvel in the midst of war, Mark finds that he must survive in this new found world of his to recover his memories and find out who he actually is again as well as discovering the mysteries behind the tacticians and their legendary talents as strategists.
1. Chapter 1: Mark?

**First Fire Emblem Fanfic, so take it easy on me :P Other then that hope you guys enjoy this short story.**

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**Chapter 1: Mark?**

"Princess Tana," yelled Vanessa, the green haired Falcon Knight, as she spotted something in the distance from the top of the mountain where she stood with her pegasus, Titania, "I got something you might want to see."

Seconds later, Tana arrived on her pegasus as well with Blue hair tied back in a ponytail and wielding a heavy lance.

"What's going on Vanessa?" asked Tana as she dismounted and looked at the direction Vanessa was pointing.

"We've got trouble," replied Vanessa grimly, "I think we've found Innes and what seems like allies of his. I think we should inform Princess Eirika and General Seth of this before we enter Carcino."

Tana nodded in agreement as she squinted at the mass of enemies below.

"Who would've thought I'd have to save my own arrogant brother,"smirked Tana as she mounted her pegasus, "Come, Vanessa, we must prepare for engaging the enemy, it seems that they have archers amongst them."

"Yes, princess," said Vanessa as she picked up her steel lance before mounting Titania and flying off with Tana to warn the rest of the army of Renais.

* * *

"Hey! hey get up! We gotta move!" yelled a voice from above me as a struggled to open my eyes, drowsiness still attempting to drag me back into a deep slumber.

"Hey! Let's move!" came the voice again, but this time more agitated and anxious. In compliance to the voice, I opened my eyes and found myself face to face with a green-haired man with a dark leather band across his forehead. He had a stern look on his face that matched quite well with the long scar that ran across it.

"Come on kid, snap out of it!" he yelled again as he shook the drowsiness out of me and dragged me to my feet. I stumbled a bit as I got up, but managed to look around and notice I wasn't in my bedroom.

"Where am I?.." I began, but stopped as I was shoved back to the ground by a young gray haired man wearing light blue and holding a bow. As we all collapsed onto the ground, I noticed an arrow that was sticking out of the wall that I was standing next to seconds earlier.

"WHAT, exactly, are you two doing standing up next to the window?!" hissed the man with the bow as he scrambled to a crouching position, "You KNOW there are archers out there. Don't go getting yourselves killed, let me handle the archers."

He then turned to the green haired man, "Gerik, you go and make sure no one enters this building, we must hold out at the slight chance of reinforcements."

Turning to me he then scrunched his eyebrows and frowned. I gulped, and I could almost feel my face turn pale as he stared at me.

"And make... whoever this is, useful," he said at last before notching an arrow onto his bow and standing up to fire before quickly crouching down again. Seconds later I heard a scream off in the distance. I shuddered at the thought of where that arrow had gone before I sat up, trying to make sense of my scenario.

But before I could process anything yet again, the man named Gerik grabbed me by the shoulder and dragged me to the other side of the room, away from the window. Whilst he was dragging me across the room, I noticed that we were in some sort of small Fort and obviously under attack.

Then it struck me,literally, as Gerik threw me into the corner, was I being held hostage!? Or am I on the bad side? Why are these people being attacked?! What the hell was going on?! I needed answers.

"Sorry about my employer there, kid," said Gerik suddenly as he held out his hand, "His name is Innes and he gets his attitude because he's the prince of Frelia. On the other hand, I'm just a sellsword or mercenary. You can call me Gerik"

I hesitated at his offer, unsure of whether or not to trust him, but deciding that a handshake wouldn't do any harm I held out my hand as well.

"So what's your name, kid? and where do you come from? Odd to be passed out in an abandoned fort like this." asked Gerik as he shook me hand before letting go to reach for his sword sheath.

"Errr my name is... ummm Mark? and... ughh I don't come from here!" I said quickly as lies raced through my mind, "I'm a traveling errrr tactician and I was... umm spending the night here since I have no where else to go!"

Gerk narrowed his eyes at my answer, but nodded in approval although his hand was still firmly gripped onto his sword which was in its sheath.

"Alright...Mark, well can you use a sword?" he asked, but before I even gave an answer he went over to another side of the room and tossed what seemed like a slim sword to me.

"It's one of the lighter types of swords, thought it'd be easier for a kid like you to use," he said as he folded his arms as he watched me fail to catch the sword.

"I... ughh I'm not much of a swordsman...Gerik," I said weakly as I pulled the sword out of it's sheath and swung it left and right, testing it against the air. The sword was surprisingly light, despite its somewhat large size. Gerik was right, it did fit me well.

"Now let's get goi-" began Gerik, but he was suddenly cut off as the door slammed open and a red haired woman dressed in dancing clothes fell through the door, an arrow in her shoulder.

"Tethys!" said Gerik as he scrambled over to help her up, "Mark! come help me, we gotta get this arrow out of her"

So I too went over and helped the woman back on her feet, but as soon as she was standing she started to speak.

"Re..rein..reinforcements!" she gasped as passed out. Gerik looked up at me quickly before looking back down at Tethys.

"On second thought, don't take the arrow out yet, it'll make the bleeding worse. Instead we gotta get to those reinforcements. No time for introductions now, but this is Tethys, a fellow mercenary of mine you could say" said Gerik as he drew his excessively large sword and gripped it with both hands, "You hold onto Tethys and stay behind me. Reinforcements have arrived which means we have to go quickly and join them before they're surrounded too."

"But..." I said as I looked down at Tethys," what if..

"No buts! no ifs," boomed Gerik as he kicked open the door and rushed out, slicing the soldier trying to break in clean. I looked away as the man screamed and blood gushed from his halves.

"I'm going to throw up..." I groaned as I hefted Tethys onto my back, but before I could take a step I looked up to see an archer grinning as he aimed his bow directly at me. I shut my eyes, bracing for the pain or even certain death, but no death came.

All that happened was the noise of another arrow being quickly notched and fired from behind me. When I opened my eyes I saw that the archer that was aiming at me, now had an arrow sticking out of his throat. Then a hand came down on my shoulder and I glanced behind me to see Innes giving me a stern look of encouragement.

"It's time to go, I'll keep the enemy archer's at bay, just run towards the mountains over there until you see reinforcements," he said as he notched another arrow and fired.

"But what about Ger-"

"He'll be fine, his group of mercenaries are built tough and he's their leader, just get going."

I gave a quick nod of acknowledgement to Innes before rushing out the door. The sounds of arrows wizzing behind me and swords slashing close enough to cut some of my clothes kept me sprinting as if I were an olympic sprinter going for gold. As i ran though, the emotions of doubt slowly ebbed away as I felt some sort of excitement, which normally would be called insanity. I figured that I could get my questions answered later and should focus on staying alive first and foremost.

All the while I felt the presences of Gerik and Innes beside me, keeping Tethys and I safe enough for a narrow escape.

We kept up the pace until all of a sudden I heard an enemy soldier's voice and I stopped running altogether.

"Give up, you're surrounded. Resistance is futile," chuckled the soldier, "Don't take it personally though. We're just under Pablo's orders hehe It's quite the nice pay for your heads though."

I looked around and found that he was right. All around us, were enemies. Cavaliers, knights, archers, and other types of horseman as well. All of their weapons drawn and ready to strike at a moments notice. I looked to my left to find Innes standing there, bow drawn, and aiming from target to target almost as if unsure which one would strike first. To my left was Gerik, his sword stained with blood, but he had a ferocious look in his eyes that made some of the enemy back off a bit in his direction.

And then there was me, I was standing there, holding what seemed like a damsel in distress with nothing but a small slim sword strapped to my waist.

"We're so dead..." I murmured as I felt my legs starting to shake, the adrenaline was starting to wear off and my somewhat decent strength was decaying from carrying Tethys, "Not much hope now given the situation..."

"Don't you worry kid," said Gerik as he glanced down at me and winked, "I still got a trick up my sleeve."

I gave him a slight nod in return, hoping he was right and those weren't just words to keep someone happy before their death. But to my surprise, he was right.

"Now men, Kill th-"

The enemy soldier's voice was cut off by the sound of a sword slicing through the air, followed by a thud as the soldier's head fell onto the ground, and the wielder of that sword, landed gracefully in front of me. I looked at her as blood spattered onto the grass, speechless at her speed and agility. Her attire was that of a light swordsman, nothing but robes, and she had her light purple hair wrapped in a ponytail. She looked up at me, eyes near expressionless, but when glancing over to Gerik I noticed a slight tinge of red to her face.

"Chief," she said as she stood up straight and turned to face the enemy with her sword drawn, "Your orders?"

"Same old Marisa," chuckled Gerik as he too brandished his sword in front of him, "Get ready Mark. Thanks to Marisa's beautiful entrance, we've just pissed off the whole lot even more."

"Wait... so she's on our si-"

The sounds of the enemies screaming in rage after recovering from the shock of their ally's death cut me off though and the chaos resumed, but this time as I ran through the masses of screaming swordsman, I noticed Marisa's presence near me. The strange thing of it though, was that I couldn't pinpoint exactly where she was at all times. One moment she'd be at my left, the other time at my right. It gave me an eerie feeling that she wasn't a swordsman to be trifled with.

We continued to push on through the enemy until a piercing scream was heard from the enemy lines.

"The Army of Renais is here! Quickly, to arms!" yelled one soldier as several cavaliers rushed out and into the oncoming force. I then followed suite and ran towards the army, but I didn't see them as an enemy, I saw them as-

"Reinforcements!" yelled Gerik as he caught sight of them and smiled, "Finally!"

As I ran closer and closer to the army, I could slowly start to make out that it wasn't really a gigantic army, but rather a medium sized band of soldiers. At the front of the charge was a silver armored figure, my guess, the general of the army. Behind him were three cavaliers of varying armor colors, two green, one red. I watched as they dove into the enemy lines and hacked and slashed through. As they fought I noticed more of the reinforcements slowly pouring in through the backlines.

A knight wielding a lance was battering away a few swordsmen while a purple haired mage behind him shot fireballs at oncoming archers. Then above me I heard the sounds of horses and the beating of wings, but when I looked up I saw nothing. I then looked behind me to see a knight on a pegasus had flown by and stabbed a man through with her lance.

All the while this was happening, I had forgotten the fact that I was even in any danger. Only the tap on the shoulder of a man brought me back into reality.

"Hey kid," said the man, but when I turned around no one was there.

"What the-"

Another tap on the shoulder from behind me and I swung around this time to see a man in a dark cloak dash to his left and disappear, dodging a jab from an enemy's lance, only to re-appear next to the man and cut his throat. The cloaked figure dropped onto the ground in a crouch and watched the man fall before coming over to me. He tapped me on the shoulder again before speaking.

"Seriously kid, you're luck isn't going to last forever," he said as he pulled back his hood to reveal spikey red hair that was partially covered by a black hat. My first thought when I saw him was why was he wearing a hat under his hood, but I shoved that thought to the back of my mind as the man continued.

"I've been protecting you for the passed 5 minutes as you gazed around this wonderful thing we call a battlefield," he huffed as he sheathed his two daggers and grabbed my one arm, "Come on we've got to get moving before you get injured because then I'd have to carry that damsel there."

"Ughh okay," I mumbled as he weaved me through the mass of fighting people. Surprisingly we came out unscathed and at the edge of the battlefield we were met by a beautiful blue haired girl wielding a rapier and a just as beautiful blonde that held some sort of staff.

"Princess Eirika; Natasha. I've brought the only injured members of Innes's party here," said the red haired man as he gave a slight bow and vanished again.

"How does he do that," I grumbled as I looked up at both women, who were staring at me intently.

"Pay no mind to Joshua," said the blonde, who I assumed was Natasha,"Recently he's changed his trade and has been learning the arts of an assassin. He tends to show off by vanishing and appearing where he pleases. By the way, my name is Natasha and I am a cleric. Nice to meet you. And to my left is the Princess of Renais and leader of this army, Princess Eirika."

I looked to my right and gave a slight bow to her since I saw Joshua do it. The princess smiled and gave a slight laugh once I'd done that.

"There's no need for such formalities now," she said as she walked over to me and helped carry Tethys over to Natasha,"We're still on the battlefield so always be vigilant."

"Yes... errr princess," I said in an awkward tone as we set Tethys down on the grass,"sorry."

"Let me handle her from here," said Natasha as she bent down next to Tethys, her staff glowing at it's end where an orb sat. I watched as the orb did it's work and slowly removed the arrow from Tethys, all the while bending the flesh wound it left.

"Wow..." I said as I watched the process, unaware of the yells coming from behind me.

"Move!" Eirika yelled as she shoved me to the side and the place where I stood earlier exploded into shrapnel.

"What's going on?" yelled Eirika as she stood up, rapier in hand,"Get me General Seth!"

A monk, who had been standing at the edge of the battlefield firing blasts of light earlier, gave a nod to Eirika and ran off to find this general. Seconds later the same silver armored knight rode up to Eirika.

"Princess, we are currently under fire from ballistas set up at Pablo's fortress, your orders?" said Seth as he lowered his silver lance and opened his helmet's visor.

"So be it, we push up through the city and take Pablo's fortress although be sure not to injure any-"

The ground beneath us suddenly exploded into more shrapnel, sending me sprawling across the grass.

"Ugh... shit," I said as I felt a pain in my side and my vision started to dim. All around me more people yelled and I briefly saw enemy soldiers running passed.

"Quickly! Save the princess and the injured!" came a voice in the distance, "Natasha! Go get Moulder from the East front! Hurry! Gilliam, hold out a little longer as we-"

Another explosion shook the ground around me as my vision continued to blur, but the last thing I saw was that of a green armored knight hefting me up onto his shoulder and carrying me to wherever safety was...

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**So there was Chapter 1. Based off of FE: Sacred Stones, which I do not own in any way. I hope you liked it and give comments if you so choose, until next time. Cya**

**Chapter 2: Light in the Darkness**


	2. Chapter 2: The Tactician Returns

**Again, continuing on with the story of Mark. Hoping you guys are enjoying this as much as I am. Once more, feedback is appreciated as well as a sorry in advance for not having much action in this chapter. I needed to explain a few things that are obviously not apart of the original FE series as well as shed some light on my ideas of Mark's origins.**

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**Chapter 2: The Tactician Returns**

"Pablo," said a soldier as he walked up to wear his leader stood in his fortress, "I have an update on the battlefield."

"Well? Go on, spit it out!" said Pablo, eager to hear of the results of whether or not the precious little prince of Frelia was dead.

"Currently we are keeping the enemy at bay with our consistent ballista fire, but Prince Innes as well as his mercenaries have regrouped with the Army of Renais, which is also led by Princess Eirika."

Pablo frowned as he heard the news, disappointed by the amount of progress his army had made since his last update.

"So, how goes the battle now? I'm sure Princess Eirika is not too hard to-"

"That's not all, sir"

"Hmm?"

"We've received word from some of our soldiers that a mysterious man has appeared and is currently under the protection of army of Renais."

"hmmm and what's so special about him?"

"Nothing yet, sir. He seems to lack fighting experience and seems to be just a burden to the army as of now, but-"

"Well if he's not a threat, then stop wasting my time!" boomed Pablo as the grip on his book of Divine increased, "Just make sure they're done for before reporting back to me."

"Yes sir," mumbled the soldier as he backed off and out of the room.

Pablo then slowly walked toward his balcony, which overlooked the entire city and past it. In the distance he could see the fighting and smiled, but he then noticed something strange beyond the fighting. He caught a glimpse of something red streaking across the sky.

"Tsk," said Pablo as he expected the worse, "Typical of Grado to have their wyvern rider's here."

* * *

"Hey! Wake up Mark, wake up!" yelled someone from above me, which gave me a sense of dejavu as I groggily opened my eyes. As I opened my eyes, I came face to face with a metal visor, which freaked me out.

"Aaghh!" I yelled and quickly scrambled backwards away from the green visor, "W-w-who are you?!"

"Gilliam, Knight of Frelia," he replied as he lifted his visor, showing a man in his early thirties with a scruffy beard and equally scruffy hair sleaked back, "I serve under Princess Eirika for the time being and I needed to wake you up because we've got to get moving."

"Moving?" I asked as I looked around to find that I had somehow ended up in a cave, "Uhmm what happened earlier?"

"A ballista aimed for the princess landed where we were standing and you were knocked unconscious," said Gilliam as he leaned his lance on his shoulder,"It's been several hours since then and Princess Eirika had decided to pull back everyone back into the mountains to take refuge for the night."

"Oh... I see," I said as I checked my waist to still find that the sword Gerik had given me was still there, "But wasn't I injured? I felt... I felt something hit me when the ballista-"

"You can thank Natasha for that later, Mark," said Gilliam roughly as he nodded towards my rib cage, "But for now we're holding a strategic meeting for our counter assault on Pablo and the princess as well as General Seth were wondering if you would join them since Gerik has informed us that you are a tactician. Your skills would greatly help us."

I blinked as the knight stood there, expecting an answer. It couldn't hurt to try and help, but I was really lying about being a tactician. _Well not much I can do now_, I thought.

"Sure I'll help if I can," I said as I nodded and stood up straight, arcing my back only to feel a sharp prod of a lance tip poking me in the back.

"Yoww!" I exclaimed as I jumped forward and turned to look behind me only to see a cute green haired knight sleeping on the ground, her lance propped up on her shoulder. I groaned and rubbed my back at the sight of how sharp the lance's tip was.

"That's Vanessa," said Gilliam in a hushed voice, "Her combat abilities are unrivaled in the air when on her Pegasus, Titania. I trust that you will try to keep quiet and not disturb her. Despite her initially outlook, she can be quite aggressive without any sleep."

I turned back to Gilliam and gave a nod of agreement before tip toeing past Vanessa and deeper into the cave. Behind me I heard Gilliam clanking along as his armor bumped into things here and there. The cave was dark and dimly lit though so I felt as if I was walking into a dungeon of some sorts.

Just when I was about to speak up abut where we were going exactly, the cave shook, causing me to lose my footing and stumble.

"What the hell was that?!" I exclaimed as I stood up and brushed myself off, with the help of Gilliam.

"Ballista just hit the mountain I presume," said Gilliam with a sigh,"Pablo must want us dead pretty badly since he's proceeding with the siege even at night."

I nodded in agreement that some peace and quiet would also be nice as well, but a few minutes later I stumbled yet again, but this time because of the poor lighting and I couldn't see a stone and tripped.

"Ugh," I said as I rubbed the bruise on my leg, "Why is this place so dimly lit?"

"Axemen," Gilliam snorted, "More of Pablo's mercenaries that prefer to fight in the mountains. They're currently searching for us so we keep things dimly lit so as not to reveal ourselves too much."

"Ahh, I see," I shuddered as I imagined huge men with axes prowling the mountains for us. After that we proceeded on with no further distractions besides passing a few sleeping soldiers and stopping to say thanks to Natasha before the cave's path opened up into a wide open room covered in mysterious orbs of light.

"Woah.." I said as I gazed around the room and winced at how bright the lights were, "How did they do this?"

"You mean how did I do this," said a voice from a corner of the room. I looked over to see the same orange haired monk I had seen on the battlefield.

"You?"

"Yep, I can use my divine and holy magic to create balls of light temporarily. It is the type of magic I specialize in," he chuckled as he held out his hand,"The name is Artur by the way and this is Lute."

As he said that he pointed to another corner where a purple haired girl in robes stood reading a book. I nodded hello and gave a slight wave, but she only responded by looking up and nodding.

"She's not very talkative at night," said Artur with a sheepish smile,"Oh, but enough introductions. The Princess and General would like to see you now."

I nodded and looked towards the center of the room where I saw a silver armored man with red hair and Princess Eirika stood in deep discussion. I took a step towards them, but was suddenly halted by a firm hand on my shoulder. I turned to find myself staring at Gilliam, who held out a green cloak in his hand.

"Take it Mark," he said as he shoved it into my arms, "Consider it a welcoming gift from the House of Frelia."

"Uhmmm thanks?" I said as I gratefully took the cloak and wrapped it around me, pulling the hood over my head. As soon as I had done so, for some reason, I felt comfortable. It was unexplainable, but for the first time since my arrival to this land, I felt in my element and not like a stranger in a distant land.

As I walked up to the General and the Princess too, I felt some sense of dejavu almost as if I had done such things many times before, but couldn't recall it.

"Ah, nice of you to join us Tactician Mark," said General Seth as he held out his hand which I took and shook firmly,"Princess Eirika says you completed quite the feat of escorting an injured mercenary all the way to the backlines of our army. I commend you greatly for your efforts."

"Thank you General," I said with a nod from beneath my hood, scanning his every expression, "Well you said you needed me, correct?"

"Ah, yes," said the General as he pulled up a rolled up map,"Princess, may I?"

"You may proceed Seth," she said firmly as she crossed her arms impatiently," Mark is hear to help and we need to make this quick so we can rest up for tomorrow's siege."

The room rumbled and some stones fell from the ceiling beside where we stood.

"Tsk and plus we're still getting bombarded by those ballistas."

"Alright Mark," said Seth as he showed me the map of the area before handing me the map itself, "I trust you know what to do?"

I nodded as I held out my hand for the map, but as soon as he placed the map in my hand a bolt of pain streaked across my head and I gasped before collapsing onto one knee. I closed my eyes as visions of soldiers, tactics, death, life, allies, enemies, blood, gore, loss, and victory. All of it, everything appeared in my mind in a flash before darkness ensued and enveloped me.

As the darkness surrounded me I heard a faint voice from the distance saying something. I tried opening my eyes, but nothing happened. I was only met by more and more darkness so instead of trying to find out who was speaking, I decided to try and comprehend what was being said. I waited for a moment before straining my ears to hear the words being murmured all around me.

_Congratulations tactician, you have retained the memories of the Tactician of Legend, Mark._

_"What?!" _I yelled into the darkness, unsure of what that meant, but the voice just repeated the message two more times before ebbing away.

"Shit," I mumbled as darkness enveloped me yet again, but this time I found myself opening my eyes to a small room that was dimly lit by candlelight.

"Where... where am-"

I was cut off by the sounds of a door opening downstairs and a voice calling out. I slowly got up though out of curiosity and walked towards the door which lead downstairs. As I creeped down the stairs, the voice became clearer and clearer.

"I am Iowen, a knight serving under King Elbert and Prince Eliwood. I am here to inform all of you that if you wish to assist the Prince, please step forward and volunteer." said Iowen as he gazed around at the people in the Inn I was staying in for some reason.

By that time I was standing at the end of the stairs, watching him give his speech. Once he'd finished talking he waited for volunteers, but as he looked around the room, I found that his gaze slowly locked onto me.

"You there! I've heard from a few villagers that you're a tactician!"

I opened my mouth to respond, but the world around me suddenly started to fade out into blackness.

"What..." I said, obviously perplexed at what had just happened, "What's going-"

"You are experiencing the memories of a past Mark," said a voice from around me.

I opened my mouth to respond, but suddenly I was blinded by a bright light, forced to close my eyes. Once I re opened them I was face to face with a Prince like figure with red hair.

"Mark. The captured Caelin soldiers are most likely exhausted. I'd like to protect them and keep them from having to fight. I realize that makes it difficult for you to plan a strategy, but... I will do my best to take up their share of the fighting. Now, please tell us what we should do, Mark." he said with a confident smile._  
_

The image then faded to blackness again. I blinked, still unsure of what was going on. I took my hand and pressed my hands to my face.

"Ughhh I'm so confused!" I yelled as yet another bolt of pain struck my head again, "Aarrghh!"

"You see, Mark," said the voice again, this time gentler, "Every time the world is in peril or in need. A tactician is summoned to guide a certain party to victory to maintain the balance of good over evil."

I nodded slightly, trying to understand what was going on.

"You are not the only tactician though, Mark," he went on,"There were many before you...look."

I looked up to see what seemed like an endless line of men and woman staring at me all wearing similar cloaks. I gasped and shook my head vigorously, believing it to be an illusion. But there were rows of men and woman staring at me. All of them held intellectual gazes that pierced through me.

"You see Mark, each of these tacticians had their roles to fulfill in their separate world. Now it is your turn to assist Princess Eirika and Prince Ephraim in stopping the demon king from taking over and bringing their country into a dark age..."

Then the images of the row of tacticians disappeared one by one. I watched as they vanished until only one remained. I stood up in my own cloak and stared at the last tactician. We both stared at each other for a moment before he nodded and vanished as well.

"Remember...Mark," said the voice again,"In order to succeed as a tactician you must cut your losses to a minimum otherwise things may take a turn for the worse."

Another blinding light and when I re opened my eyes I found myself looking at an unknown prince. He had dark black hair and look infuriated.

"You!" he said unsheathing his sword and pressing the point to my chest,"WHAT, exactly, are you? eh?!"

"I..I don't understa-"

"Dont play games!" he said as he started to laugh maniacally as he pointed to my right,"Just look at what you've done. All of my friends. Slain on the battlefield because of you."

The blade pushed deeper into my stomach and despite it being a vision i shared the pain this tactician felt. I opened my mouth to respond, but I heard another voice first, it was a girl's voice.

"But we did win the battle, didn't we?!"

I blinked and when I opened my eyes I was staring at the same prince, but from over his shoulder. In front of him,with a blade jabbed into her was a girl that was probably only a bit older then me. I gulped as I watched the prince laugh at the tactician's words.

"Excuses," he said as rage filled his eyes, followed by tears,"You die now to atone for your sins."

He then shoved the blade deeper into the girl. I watched in vain as she gritted her teeth as blood dribbled down her mouth. I closed my eyes, unable to watch to the end, but her voice suddenly made me open my eyes.

"Tactician, I pass onto you my experience of pain and suffering," she said as she looked me directly in the eyes, "I hope it will serve to keep you from letting anyone else experience such pain."

"You.. you can see me?!" I yelled as I ran to shove away the prince, but my hand just phased through him,"What the-"

"Stop babbling nonsense!" screamed the prince as he pulled his bade out of her, raised it, and struck down. At the exact same time I felt enormous amounts of pain suddenly hit me like a thousand bullets. I screamed and collapsed onto the ground, unable to feel or do anything. _What the hell! _I thought as I gasped for air before another volley of pain hit me like a wave. This time though it was a wave of painful emotions such as doubt, depression, sadness, and rage. The pattern continued until I started to cough up blood and form a migraine. After that it stopped. As I wiped the blood from my mouth I managed to look up at the emotionless body of the tactician. I grimaced as the image faded into darkness yet again.

"We give you this pain as a gift," said the voice again,"It is one of the many gifts necessary for your training as a tactician for without a cause or reason, the skills we give you shall be proven pointless."

"Well what the fuck kind of gift was that!" I bellowed into the darkness.

"It is a gift because with this pain you've experienced, you know what failure to comply with your party means. Limited deaths to the army you're commanding is better for the mental stability of your leaders."

I grimaced at the thought of being killed by an insane Princess Eirika before struggling to my feet, unsure of what was to come next.

"Alright, young tactician. As previously stated we have bestowed the skills of the previous tactician in you. Do not fail us."

"Us? Wait wait! I have questions too! and I demand they be answered!" I yelled in outrage.

"All in due time," came the voice's reply,"But for now you must return and lead the assault on Carcino..."

"What the fuck is this?! I said as sudden weariness started to collapse on me, "I want answers!"

"All of your questions will be answered in due time...all...in...due...time"

Those were the last words I heard before closing my eyes and letting the weariness lull me to sleep.

"Geez, what's with this kid and passing out," murmured a voice from above me as I groaned and groggily opened my eyes, "Hey he's up Natasha."

I opened my eyes to find myself looking at Joshua the quirky assassin and Natasha the cleric.

"Hehe hope you had a nice nap kid," said Joshua as he held his hand out to pull me up,"The General and Princess were worried about you so they assigned me as your chaperon." I graciously accepted his help despite Natasha's protests that I shouldn't be up and moving yet.

"It's fine Natasha," I said as I wrapped my cloak tighter around me and gazed at the rising sun from the cave's entrance, "The assault on Pablo's fortress is today and I'm behind on my work anyways."

I then found a secluded spot in the cave and opened up the map before scanning it. Despite not being able to read it quite well, I instantly found tactics and strategies flowing through my mind.

"Alright," I said to myself with a sigh, "I'll do as you say and help save this world, but dammit I'll make sure my questions are answered before this is over."

* * *

**Chapter 2 was done very quickly. I didn't expect to finish so soon. The pace of which I upload chapters will vary soon as I will be going back to school soon.**

**Chapter 3: Assault on Carcino**


	3. Chapter 3: Assault on Cercino

**Hope you guys are still interested in the story. Sorry about the last chapter being a bunch of talking, I wanted to fill in some back story I'd thought of for the tacticians and how they're like a generation thing...sorta.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Assault on Cercino**

"Alright," I said as I took down the map from the cave wall and turned to face Princess Eirika, General Seth, and the rest of the army of Renais, "Any questions on our battle strategy?"

Some people in the crowd started murmuring to each other, but no one asked anything or objected to my plan. I also noticed no one nodded in approval either. I gulped as I thought about the crazed prince from my dream.

_I am not going to end up like that other tactician,_ I said to myself as I rolled up the map in my arms before turning to put it in my bag that was given to me by Joshua earlier, which was quite nice of him.

I was so busy shoving the map in my bag that I failed to notice that General Seth and Princess Eirika were patiently waiting behind me.

"Oh! I'm sorry for not noticing earlier!" I said as I jumped slightly and turned to face them while straightening my cloak, "Is there something you need princess?"

"Oh, no nothing like that," she said with a warm smile,"I'd just like to say thank you. Your tactics and strategies are a great help to General Seth and I because we have more time to help prep the soldiers and help around."

"Ah, you're welcome princess," I said as I smiled back, "Just doing my job."

"Ah, yes," she said as she looked towards the cave entrance,"I have more to tell you since you have not been properly informed of our situation yet, but that will have to wait. According to your scheduling, we begin our assault soon."

I looked at the cave entrance and saw that the shadows were growing larger outwards as well. _Good,_ I thought as I made my way towards the mouth of the cave and looked down, _The sun is setting behind us now, which gives us an opportunity to strike. The shadows of the mountains plus the rocks and boulders on the trail leading down the mountain should give enough cover for a surprise attack, but that will only work if Johua and Colm, the assassin and thief, do their job of creating a diversion._

I furrowed my brow as I scanned further down the mountain rage and up at Pablo's Fortress. _And with the majority of the enemy being killed or captured by the end of the day, we have all night to storm the city and Pablo's fortress with little fear of ballista bombardment because of the night granting them poor vision of us and giving us the edge._

I nodded, satisfied with my plan before turning to face Neimi and Innes.

"So, you're finally making yourself useful?" scoffed Innes as he pulled an arrow from his quiver and notched it.

"I'm sure it will work," I said sarcastically from underneath my hood, which made him raise an eyebrow, but he didn't respond. I watched as he and Neimi both took their positions at the ridge where they had an amazing view of the enemy encampment, but amazing cover as well.

"Your orders?" came a familiar voice from behind me, which made me turn in surprise.

"Gerik," I smiled as I clasped his hand, "So you did survive!"

"Of course!" he laughed as he pounded his fist to his chest,"My band of mercenaries are built tough, practically un-killable."

I laughed as well. The from behind him, Marisa and Tethys came up. Marisa was wearing her usual emotionless expression as well as her usual attire while Tethys was dressed the same as when I'd last seen her except she had bandages wrapped around her shoulder.

"You feeling better Tethys?" I asked as I warily looked at Marisa, who was twirling her sword around.

"Well I'm alive," she laughed,"Thanks to you Mark."

"It was my pleasure," I said with a smile as I pointed them in the direction in which they would start the assault. I watched them go and prayed that my past self had decent tactician skills otherwise the three of them would almost be guaranteed death.

A sudden whistling broke me from my thought process and I looked to my side to see a blue haired man with a ponytail and standing next to him was the familiar red haired man that always wore a hat. They both looked at each other before looking at me.

"Big job you gave us," aid Joshua as he drew his blade and started to fiddle with it, "But nothing too hard for an assassin such as myself."

"Pftt, you talk too much," said Colm as he rolled his eyes, "Let your swordsmanship do the talking, we've got a job to do."

Colm then nodded at me before turning to slide down the mountainside, but unlike a normal person who would kick up stones and rocks, Colm didn't make a sound. I watched as he slid down to his position, which was nearly next to the enemy camp. I then looked up at the camp to see that the enemy guards were still idling around, unaware of our planned counter attack.

The soldiers had only recently stopped bombarding the caves this morning. I assumed it was to conserve ammo and wait until we come out for food. So the soldiers started to slack off. Overconfidence can be deadly, be it for you or for your enemy.

"Huh, there's a good amount of people down there," said Joshua from beside me as he munched on an apple,"You know. If you'd sent anyone else, that'd be suicide."

"Yes, I agree Joshua," I said with a satisfied nod,"But why are you still up here? Shouldn't you be... uhmmm I don't know, with COLM!?"

Joshua paused after I'd said that and slowly bit into his apple. He then chewed even slower as if trying to piss me off, but after swallowing he nodded and disappeared into thin air in front of me. When I looked down to where Colm was I found him sitting there next to him, eating the rest of his apple.

I shook my head in awe and disappointment before turning back to check on the rest of the army. The entire cavalry unite was prepared and there were little to no problems with the rest of the preparations besides the fact that Vanessa disliked being in the back lines.

She continually protested that as a Pegasus Knight of Frelia, she should show her skill on the front lines, instead of cowering in the back. I somewhat satisfied her though by saying she was to be the vanguard of the army along with Tana.

Once everyone was prepped, I stood on the ridge where I could view the battlefield. Next to me stood Natashe with a warp staff just in case I needed to move somewhere and warn the groups of oncoming enemies that I hadn't seen.

I looked down and nodded in approval of what I saw so I looked down to where Colm and Joshua stood and I gave them a nod.

Colm saw me nod, but Joshua didn't so I watched with a frown as Colm silently crept into the enemy camp and shortly be followed by Joshua. I closed me eyes and counted to ten slowly.

one...two...three...four...

Yells were heard from the camp below, followed by swords being drawn and the mocking laugh of Joshua.

five...six...seven...

The sounds of bows being notched and fired started to come into my hearing, followed by the hushed footsteps of Gerik's force. Then the sudden war cry and Gerik and his fellow mercenaries charged forward. By now, the enemy camp was in a panic and on one knew what to do.

eight...nine...ten...

I opened my eyes and looked at the chaos bellow me before turning toward the small area here the cavalry still waited, itching to fight. I gave my signal and Seth gave a nod of confirmation before pulling back his horse and yelling, "Charge!"

With that I watched with satisfaction as the cavalry flooded into the already almost destroyed encampment of Pablo's ground forces. It took but several more minutes to wrap up the fighting and capture any stragglers before it was as quite as before. Once the fighting had finished, I made my way down to the camp, where I found the others waiting.

"Fastest fight I've ever seen," whistled Gerik to me as he leaned on his sword and gazed around the battlefield, "Your tactics sure are something, Mark."

"Yeah... exactly as planned," I said as I looked around to see that the camp was almost entirely covered with the shadows of the mountains, concealing most, if not all of the damage done, "If we just light our fires tonight and reset the camp a little bit, we'll look exactly like Pablo's forces from far away."

"Smart move," said Gerik as he gave a satisfied nod, "So we begin our assault on Cercino tonight?"

"That's about right," I said grimly. Gerik didn't respond to that, he just nodded and made his leave, which left me standing there in the enter of camp. I watched as all the soldiers rushed around to gather food, money, weapons, or anything that would be useful. I stood their for a moment gazing around before turning my attention towards the mountains again.

"Something's not right..." I said instinctively, unsure of why I was even looking at the mountain range still. I squinted and scanned along the mountain range. Suddenly I spotted something, something slim and red, whipping back and forth. My eyes opened wide as I realized what it was. I quickly spun around and rushed to find Eirika or Seth.

* * *

"Hmmm I think we've been spotted," remarked Valter as he watched the Army of Renais set up camp where Pablo's mercenaries used to be.

"What makes you say that, sir?" asked one of Valter's wyvern riders as he leaned his javelin onto his shoulder plate and cocked his head to one side.

"Because," hissed Valter, "One of you imbeciles had your wyvern tails sticking out of the mountainside. Their tactician has spotted it and is probably warning my sweet Princess Eirika about it right now."

"So... should we attack sir?"

"Do as you wish," smirked Valter as his grip tightened on his killer lance, "I'm going to meet up with Caellach so we can have a little chat. If you DO succeed in defeating their army, then please, leave the princess alive. I'm sure she'll serve as a wonderful mistress to me."

Valter then laughed maniacally before ordering his wyvern to take to the skies, leaving the rest of his men wondering what to do next."

"So what now?" asked one of the soldiers as he peered down the mountainside, "Should we attack?"

"Hey, I heard that Princess Eirika is quite the girl," laughed the lead knight, "I say we wipe em out and take her for a bit before handing her over to Valter,eh boys?"

The men cheered as they all mounted their wyverns. All except one knight, who just stood there. All the other soldiers looked at him and gave him quizzical looks.

"What's up with him?" murmured the lead knight to the man to his left.

"Don't know," he mumbled back, "I heard he's a newbie. I say we just leave him, he'll only slow us down."

"You're right," huffed the lead knight as he turned back at the Army," NOW! Attack and remember, keep your javelins close to you, they'll probably have archers! Remember your training and you'll soon get that Princess Eirika!"

And with that order, the squadron of wyvern knights took off, charging at break neck speeds towards the army, but one knight still remained on the cliff with his wyvern.

The wyvern nudged her to get going, but she didn't budge.

"We're not going, Typhon," the knight said as she gazed down at the other knights with cold eyes, "Not for a reason like that. I've always suspected Valter of treachery and evil, but to see that the rest of his men are just as crooked? It disgusts me."

The wyvern snorted in approval as it shook it's body to warm itself up a bit. The knight looked at her dragon and smiled.

"You seem cold, girl," she chuckled, "Let's go for a quick ride. I have a feeling that Renais is going to need some help. I'm sure our boys will find it a surprise that I'm not who they think I am."

* * *

"WYVERN RIDERS," I yelled as I ran into the tent where Eirika was with Natasha and Joshua. They all looked up at me and astonishment.

"What do you mean?!" asked Natasha, her eyes wide with worry, "Wyvern riders? here?!"

"Yes," I said as I peeked outside the tent, "I spotted one of the wyvern tails up there. It's definitely a squadron of at least 10 wyvern riders."

"Alright," said Joshua as he drew his knives, "I'll go warn the archers and tell them to be ready."

I nodded and Johua rushed out of the tent. My gaze then flicked back and forth from Eirika to Natasha as my mind began to race for a solution to this problem.

"Eirika," I said as I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up, "You have to get to safety now."

"What?! Why?" she said as she wrenched her arms away from me, "I can fight, Mark! I'm not wounded badly or any-"

"It's not that!" I said as the sounds of wings flapping hit my ear, "They want OUR leader and that's YOU. Otherwise they wouldn't attack us with such a small force! It's got to be some sort of strike team or-"

The tent curtains opened again and this time Seth came in.

"Princess, Mark. We have wyvern rider's approaching, and fast. I recognize these wyvern riders though. They're members of General Valter's elite guard and they're not to be underestimated." said Seth as he drew his sword, "We have Innes and Neimi armed and ready to engage them, but according to further inspection from Vanessa, they're wielding ridersbanes, javelins, and other types of weapons specifically designed to counter our forces. I strongly suggest we do not engage, or if we do, make it limited a limited engagement."

Eirika grimaced as she heard the news. I too shook my head and sighed as I heard the grim news. All the while, my brain furiously thought of a plan to counter act this assault, but nothing appeared in my head.

"Alright, alright," I said finally after a few more seconds of silence, "We charge the fortress NOW, take the ballista to use against the wyerns, and take shelter inside the fortress until the wyvern's give up or are wiped out."

Eirika and Seth both stood and stared at me like I was crazy.

"I'm sorry Mark. I'm not doubting your skills as a strategist, but this is insanity!" boomed Seth as he clasped his free hand to his forehead, "At least a quarter of our forces may die out there before we even breach the gates! This... this is..no.. i'm sorry mark but-"

"General, with all due respect, but you're not the strategist here," I said with a growl, "Now you do as I command and you follow my words to the dot and I'll guarantee your life and the lives of the rest of this army. Do you understand?"

"Yes... you're right," grimaced Seth, "I'm sorry. I lost my composition there..."

Seth wobbled on his feet a bit, but Eirika held him still.

"It's alright Seth," she said gently, "We all have our doubts sometimes. Just trust in Mark and he'll see us through this."

I gulped as she said those words. Little did they know, I wasn't going on my tactician memories from the past this time. I was going by my gut feeling. Both Eirika and Seth turned to me and nodded that they would go along with what he ordered them to do. Once they left, I left the tent as well and looked around. It was getting darker, which was now bad since our vision of the wyverns would be horrid.

I cursed under my breathe, but as I looked up I noticed another wyvern rider. This one wasn't with the pack of Valter's soldiers. This one was flying faster and smoother then the others and it was also riding under the cover of the mountains, so as we didn't spot it. I squinted, trying to find out who this rider was exactly, but what I saw made me gasp in shock.

"Seth!" I yelled, which made the silver knight come over, "You see that knight over there?"

"Yes, I do see her mark," he said as he glared at it, "Shall we ignore it or group it amongst the other of Valter's forces?"

"Leave it," I said, still in somewhat of a shocked state, "Only clear that one for landing and prep the soldiers. We're moving out in five minutes. The Assault on Cercino begins now."

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**So yeah, any questions, comments, concerns PM me. I really wanted to add my own character to this series, so just letting you know that knight isn't from the games. Sorry if this chapter feels rushed, I'll brush it up a bit when I have time, but with school and everything, It's becoming really tough to do. So until next time, cya.**

**Chapter 4: Sophia**


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